The worth of the Michelin star
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
"Michelin is the only guide that counts." Paul Bocuse
Well not any more surely? It's probaby your favourite TikTok influencer if you are young, or Trip Advisor, Broadsheet or The Age Good Food Guide if you are older. Maybe it's even just word of mouth. And surely like any critique of any form of art in the broadest sense the judgement is always subjective. Yes Michelin inspectors, are trained, expert and anonymous, but my limited understanding is that for each restaurant it's only one person's opinion. I think the restaurants are supposed to be visited once a year, and the results are discussed but still there would be very few inspectors visiting each individual restaurant. But I digress somewhat.
It all began way back in 1889 when these two French brothers began the Michelin tyre company - André and Edouard. And no they are not twins, but don't they look alike? Maybe it's the identical suits and tie, the beards and the glasses. At the time there were only 3000 vehicles in France and so a limited market for their tyres. How to get more people on to the roads?
Well in 1900 they had the brainwave of producing the Guide MIchelin, in the hope that it would encourage more people to buy cars and hence their tyres.:
"It provided information to motorists such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France." Wikipedia
In 1926 restaurants were introduced, and they gave their top ones a star. In 1931 a second star was introduced and in 1933 the third. Why those stars are awarded is shown here. Later on they added the Bib Gourmand award - the one we always looked out for - which was good food at a reasonable price. There used to be an actual price limit, but apparently this has now disappeared. There is also now a sustainability award as well.
I have often pondered on what is the most important criteria by which we judge a restaurant. Is it the venue, the ambience, the staff, or the food? Not to mention the company or the occasion. Well Michelin has codified this somewhat - the stars are only for the food.:
"Michelin’s PR hub claims that its assessments are made based on five objective criteria: quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavour and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in his cuisine, value for money and consistency between visits." Anita Chaudhuri/The Guardian
The crossed forks and spoons that you will also see in the guide are awarded for the service and ambience kind of thing. And you can get five of them. So I guess the very top restaurants would be aiming for three stars and five crossed forks. and spoons. If you want a detailed table showing you what this all means go to Aperitif.
I started on all of this because there was an article in the AFR's luxury pullout this weekend about how Auckland was going to get a Michelin Guide. I think it was just Auckland but maybe it was the whole of New Zealand. There was a passing reference to the fact that South Australia too was about to get a Michelin Guide, but really what made me interested was the fact that South Australia (and presumably NZ too) had paid an undisclosed sum for the 'honour'. So I set out to find more - well it was time to look at the Michelin stars really. And it seems that Michelin started to charge tourism organisations money for the privilege of having a dedicated guide, once they stopped printing the red guide, and went digital and free. The first I think was South Korea who reportedly paid AU$2.5 million total for several years. South Australia is not telling, but somebody said that the Australian tourist board turned down a fee of $40 million (so I may have that South Korea fee wrong - maybe it was 200 million). South Australia, of course is hoping that it will draw tourists and also expecting that their success will encourage other states to follow suit.
There are those however, that say its days are numbered. Chefs may want the glory, but then some of them have found the glory to be a real burden. I remember the wife of the chef/owner of a small restaurant in France we visited, which at one point had had a Michelin star, saying that they were glad they had it no longer. There is pressure, there is extra work in managing an excess of bookings ... Some say it led to the suicide of one chef when he lost one of his three stars, others have asked to give their stars back. There seems to be no doubt that it will bring in money but too much attention just might be too much.
So what would you expect of a three star Michelin experience? Well below a description of this dish served at Alain Ducasse's Dorchester Hotel restaurant in London:
"That’s just the prologue. Kicking off the seven-course ‘Harmonie’ tasting menu, a signature scallop lands bronzed and butter-soft, served in a pretty pink barnacled shell. Resting on a nest of seaweed and dry ice, trailing foggy tendrils of saline funk, it arrives crowned with nori and oyster leaf. The eating exceeds the drama – thanks, in no small part, to a rich citrus beurre blanc studded with finger lime and seasoned only with caviar." Square Meal
And then there's this, from a visit that one of England's top restaurant critics, Jay Rayner, made to Le Cirque - another hugely established three Michelin star place. He wasn't there officially, just to observe, but he was so appalled by it all that he wrote a highly controversial piece about the experience. Below is his starter dish - some kind of onion gratinée, which he described as: "It is mostly black, like nightmares, and sticky, like the floor at a teenager's party," - on the left a photo his colleague took on her iPhone and on the right the 'official' one from the restaurant. They wouldn't let The Guardian in to take a professional photograph.
Oh dear.
It seems that Michelin is currently expanding all around the world and making big money from it, but at the same time, fine dining is dying according to some - it's just too expensive although there will always be rich people. Also at the same time there are other sources to find where to eat - and on the fine dining scene the rivalry of the 50 best restaurants in the world awards, etc..
One British chef said this of the whole thing:
"Having a Michelin star is not always top of mind. And you have to get real. These days, our biggest competitor is probably not Michelin Bibs or even any other restaurant. As their Dine In menus get better and better, it’s Marks & Spencer.” Michael Deane
YEARS GONE BY
June 14
2025 - Nothing
2023 - Nothing
2021 - Missing
2020 - Missing
2019 - Blueberries
2018 - Nothing
2017 - On holiday
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